Am I a sucker for buying FB2?

[godzillajoe]

I haven't really participated in the forums despite visiting AtariAge.com for years.

 

After I bought my Flashback 2 I started poking around here reading reviews and such.

 

I see a lot of "that will be fixed in the next rev." etc.

 

What good does that do me, having dropped $35 on it already

 

Now I'm gonna have to buy it AGAIN?

 

I appreciate the effort but some of the games are just awful and unplayable and how did they end up getting released in the first place?!

 

Can I volunteer to QA the next one?

[+LS650]

What good does that do me, having dropped $35 on it already.  I appreciate the effort but some of the games are just awful and unplayable and how did they end up getting released in the first place?!

Are you enjoying playing your FB2? If the answer is yes, then no, you're not a sucker and you're getting your money's worth.

If the answer is no, then take the FB2 back and play video games on another console.

 

Personally I think that having a pair of brand new 2600 joysticks plus the equivalent of 40 carts built into a single, easy to plug'n'play unit is a fantastic bargain. I love playing my FB2.

[atwwong]

If you have time, listen to the Podcast interviews where Curt Vendel goes into (a lot of) detail regarding the development of the FB2.

[finallywed0312]

If you enjoying the FB2 then no. Me personally. I recieved it as a christmas present and 2 things were wrong with it.

 

1) One of the controllers were broken

 

2) I didnt enjoy it.

 

So I took it back to best buy and got a store credit.

 

If you like it. Have fun.

[jaybird3rd]

As an early Flashback 2 adopter, I agree with your assessment of some of the new games (primarily the Asteroids hacks and Yars' Return), and I share your frustration that the subsequent fixes could not have been a part of the system from the beginning. Having said that, however, I certainly don't regret my purchase: even with its various flaws, the Flashback 2 stands head and shoulders above any other similarly-priced TV-game on the market (except maybe for the Atari Paddle from Jakks, which I've talked about in another thread). Aside for the significant nostalgic value, look at what you're getting: two new CX-40 reproductions that work with all your old systems and are worth about 70% of the purchase price by themselves, and a collection of built-in games that is larger than most of the others even without the bad ones. With a little work, you can add a cartridge slot and play the vast majority of your 2600 library on a new console with no compatibility issues at all. All of this is a lot more than I would have imagined possible just a few years ago, and the FB2 team has been beaten up enough about the problems with the product, so I tend to accentuate the positive. I'll probably be one of the first in line for a Revision C, too, if only to get a decent port of Caverns of Mars!

[George Gray]

I haven't really participated in the forums despite visiting AtariAge.com for years.

 

After I bought my Flashback 2 I started poking around here reading reviews and such.

 

I see a lot of "that will be fixed in the next rev." etc.

 

What good does that do me, having dropped $35 on it already

 

Now I'm gonna have to buy it AGAIN?

 

I appreciate the effort but some of the games are just awful and unplayable and how did they end up getting released in the first place?!

 

Can I volunteer to QA the next one?

999915[/snapback]

 

I'm curious...what games are 'just awful and unplayable'? My biggest issue with it is PONG. There are two spots where the bloody ball goes through the paddles. Aside from that, the games are pretty good and several border on fandamtastic. Admittedly, I was'nt a big fan of a few of them, but I would'nt consider them 'just awful' or unplayable.

 

Am I imagining it or did'nt Battlezone USED to have objects on the field? Like squares and triangles? I don't see them in this version.

I digress.

I don't regret buying mine at all. It has provided us with plenty of fun.

[Feralstorm]

Arcade Battlezone had obstacles. 2600 Battlezone gave you extra stuff to fight.

[+LS650]

I'm curious...what games are 'just awful and unplayable'? 

Well, the guy's got a point: Yar's Return is terrible and pretty much unplayable. I like Arcade Asteroids (it's the original 2600 version with better-looking astroids) but the other two Asteroid hacks are crummy. I think Caverns of Mars is okay, but some people hate it because of the flickering playfield...

...but then I think the Save Mary prototype is great and easily one of the better games on the console. Pong's okay too.

I hope that if there's an FB2.1 that Atari will loosen their purse strings and licence more 3rd-party games and some of the better homebrews.

[kevin242]

I had sort of the same feeling when I picked up my FB 2.0 (rev B). The

"new" games are unplayable and I couldnt understand why or how they

made it onto the final product. I know now, but I still think it was bad

idea releasing such a great piece of hardware with games that are

flawed.

 

That said, I had alot of fun playing Off the Wall and Save Mary, plus Ive

even played some classics like Missle Command which look great with

composite output. Personally I think Curt/Atari whomeever would of

been better off just including a few more classic games and forgetting

the new releases.

 

If I wasnt a retrogame collector and someone who appreciates things

like Atari releasing hardware that is a real Atari etc.. and I bought a

FB 2 on whim, I would try it and think it was a piece of shit because

of the substandard games. I guarantee the FB 3 will not sell as well

as the FB2 (if it ever comes out, but I am hoping).

[ZylonBane]

Well, the guy's got a point: Yar's Return is terrible and pretty much unplayable.  I like Arcade Asteroids (it's the original 2600 version with better-looking astroids) but the other two Asteroid hacks are crummy.  I think Caverns of Mars is okay, but some people hate it because of the flickering playfield...

Don't forget the awful, ugly, flickering, poorly-animated Lunar Lander, which looks nothing like the mockup on the box.

[Zwackery]

My FB 2.0 Rev.B is currently sitting in its box in the closet, where it has been for basically the last 4 months. I am getting more gaming value out of my 2600, 5200, and GBA SP (playing the classic ports there). For me, it is more of a curious piece of historical revisitation than anything else. Also, at parties, people still prefer the original hardware to the FB 2.0.

[godzillajoe]

Yeah as someone else mentioned, it would have been a better idea to release some of the "real" games instead of the hacks. Maybe a "SPORTS" section with Bowling, Realsports Tennis, Football and Soccer, Basketball and if possible Pete Rose Baseball

 

As far as what I think is unplayable. I think that's been covered too and for me it's the same: Yar's Return, Space Duel, Lunar Lander and Caverns Of Mars (the last two are a real shame because they're very playable aside from the seizure inducing playfield flicker.

 

I know you guys have covered all of this months ago but I just had to vent

 

In retrospect, MOST of the games are nice but as a software QA nerd by trade, the ones that stink really stand out and piss me off

[NovaXpress]

Most of us would buy a sack of gravel if it had a Fuji logo on it, so what does it matter?

[[d2f]Iggy*SJB]

I really don't mind the lunar lander screwup....I actually have the arcade machine.

 

TBH, there's only 2 games on there that I play with any regularity(mostly because I can't find my damned paddles )...and that's Missile Command, and Pitfall. But, to me, those 2 games alone were worth it. The fact that I can hack a cart port into it just adds to the bargain. My old 2600 doesn't work....and I really don't have the time to open it up and poke around.

[Gunstar]

Well, the guy's got a point: Yar's Return is terrible and pretty much unplayable.  I like Arcade Asteroids (it's the original 2600 version with better-looking astroids) but the other two Asteroid hacks are crummy.  I think Caverns of Mars is okay, but some people hate it because of the flickering playfield...

Don't forget the awful, ugly, flickering, poorly-animated Lunar Lander, which looks nothing like the mockup on the box.

1000232[/snapback]

 

This was my biggest disappointment in the FB2, It was the main reason I bought one, I thought it would have been a better Lunar Lander like what is on the box. This game is to the arcade version what 2600 Pac-man is to it's arcade counterpart(but even worse). But, on a whole, I do like the Flashback, and especially the controllers. I'm just glad they used real atri compatible hardware this time instead of selling Nintendo-on-a-chip to Die-hard Atarians, too me, that was a bigger mistake than Atari themselves (Tramiel's Atari) ever made. The FB2 is at least facing the right direction towards redemption from the sins (new Atari, Inc.) of the past.

Edited January 15, 2006 by Gunstar

[supercat]

This was my biggest disappointment in the FB2, It was the main reason I bought one, I thought it would have been a better Lunar Lander like what is on the box. This game is to the arcade version what 2600 Pac-man is to it's arcade counterpart(but even worse). But, on a whole, I do like the Flashback, and especially the controllers. I'm just glad they used real atri compatible hardware this time instead of selling Nintendo-on-a-chip to Die-hard Atarians, too me, that was a bigger mistake than Atari themselves (Tramiel's Atari) ever made. The FB2 is at least facing the right direction towards redemption from the sins (new Atari, Inc.) of the past.

1000759[/snapback]

 

Yeah, if a game like that is going to have 30Hz flicker it'd be nice if they did something to make the flicker worthwhile.

 

Check out my Lunar Lander kernel demo. Joystick verticals are a little odd because of gravity; left and right work as expected, though. Use Reset/Select to rotate the ship, but whatever you do, don't push the fire button!

ll.bin

[supercat]

Yeah as someone else mentioned, it would have been a better idea to release some of the "real" games instead of the hacks.  Maybe a "SPORTS" section with Bowling, Realsports Tennis, Football and Soccer, Basketball and if possible Pete Rose Baseball

1000255[/snapback]

 

Pete Rose baseball would probably be too expensive to license, (I think Atari'd need licenses from Acclaim, Pete Rose, and MLB). On the other hand, I think Bowling and Football were certainly defining titles for the 2600. Possibly Championship/Pele's Soccer too, though I'll confess to not having played that one.

 

I would assume Infogrames/Atari has absolute rights to the entire Atari catalog of games that did not involve other licenses. Even their big hit of 1980 should be doable if the name it "Sandive capers" or something. People might think it reminds them somewhat of a certain Taito arcade hit, but since it doesn't share any graphical elements from the arcade and any patents on the arcade game have long since lapsed, I'd think Infogrames/Atari should be able to release it.

[kevin242]

Most of us would buy a sack of gravel if it had a Fuji logo on it, so what does it matter?

1000294[/snapback]

 

 

You have a sack of gravel with a fuji logo on it? Does it come in the original box?

[hex65000]

I actually just got back from the store with my FB2-b in hand and proceeded to play. To me one of the motivators was oddly to have a decent non-emu version of Quadrun. -- which I will never be able to justify. The only reason I still own my sole R9 is that I had it when I was a kid and I just can't give it up without a reasonable equivalent in hand.

 

I digress. It may happen a lot here. . .

 

I admit the asteroids hacks are painful and I had all sorts of odd events with adventure 2, Yar's Return was interesting in concept alone. I didn't mind the flicker of Caverns of Mars terrilby. It's playable at least for the first couple of levels I got through.

 

I do like the sticks overall though. The hard plastic is a good solution to avoid 'chewed' handles. I always wondered about that until I found my old sticks from when I was a kid. It was my fingernails that were ripping the things to shreds. Since we didn't have a dog and nobody chewed on stuff like that. The stick feels different than the original, but at the same time feels really responsive. I'm glad I picked up an extra pair from Atari Eric.

 

Being the cheap booger I am, I would have liked to have gotten this for $20, but I am not disappointed either. Theres some good stuff at a tolerable price -- especially if compared to the prices of buying the original hardware. I still have to decide how and if I want to hack the unit though. It's a lot smaller than I thought it would be and I feel kinda bad about just punching a hole clean through the unit.

 

Thanks go out to the eng. team!

 

Hex.

[ Does not like it when a question asked that is exclusive or and I get the answer: 'Yes.' ]

[jsoper]

Most of us would buy a sack of gravel if it had a Fuji logo on it, so what does it matter?

1000294[/snapback]

 

 

You have a sack of gravel with a fuji logo on it? Does it come in the original box?

1001010[/snapback]

A few of us old collectors have the R9 Atari bag of gravel, but most were destroyed in New Mexico back in 1984. Some people think the bags of gravel were buried with the ET carts beneath the concrete. Other scholars believe they were used to make the concrete